Areeba Hamid, clean air campaigner, Greenpeace, said: “Diesel emissions are toxic to human health and its impacts fall especially hard on children, older people and people with existing lung diseases such as asthma. Yet almost nothing has been done to tackle car companies since they were caught cheating emissions tests.

If cars were coming off the production line with dodgy brakes, there would be mass product recall. Yet unbelievably, consumers are still being incentivised to buy these brand new diesel cars that are pumping out illegal levels of pollution. That has to stop urgently and the car companies must be made to learn their lesson. This class action could turn the tables on car companies, and finally result in action to reduce toxic air pollution that’s causing so much harm to human health.”